Quantcast
Channel: BuzzFeed News
Viewing all 15742 articles
Browse latest View live

Trump Says Police Know Who Terrorists Are, Don't Do Anything Out Of Fear Of Profiling

0
0

Mandel Ngan / AFP / Getty Images

After a weekend of suspected terror attacks in New York and New Jersey, Republican nominee Donald Trump suggested again on Monday that law enforcement in the United States should consider religious and ethnic profiling as a tactic to prevent future attacks.

"Our local police, they know a lot of who these people are. They are afraid to do anything about it because they don't want to be accused of profiling, they don't want to be accused of all sorts of things," Trump said on Fox & Friends.

Trump then pointed to Israel's practice of predictive profiling as an example, saying the country has done "an unbelievable job."

"Do we have a choice? Look what's going on," Trump said. "Do we really have a choice? We're trying to be so politically correct in our country and this is only going to get worse."

Trump told CBS News in June that profiling is "something we're going to have to start thinking about as a country."

Trump added on Friday that he believes more terror attacks will happen in the US.

"I think this is something that will maybe get — will happen perhaps more and more all over the country," Trump said. "Because we've been weak. Our country has been weak."


Trump Book Pushed Birther Conspiracy Months After He "Finished" Birtherism

0
0

Mike Segar / Reuters

Donald Trump's campaign is still falsely claiming he "finished" the birther movement — a movement he promoted publicly for five years — by getting President Obama to release his long form birth certificate in 2011.

But months after Trump "finished" birtherism, he again questioned the president's birthplace at length in his 2011 book, Time To Get Tough.

"I never understood why Obama would allow the question to hang around. Why not just produce the birth certificate and be done with it?," Trump writes in the final chapter of his December 2011 book, titled "The Press and The Presidency."

"Get it out there and move on," continues Trump. "So I was very proud that I was able to finally get him to do something that no one else had been able to do. For the record, I’m not saying Obama wasn’t born in the United States. However, multiple questions still surround the hospital records, his grandmother’s statement that he was born out of the country, and his family members’ statements that they weren’t sure which hospital he was born in."

Trump said the president's birth certificate could be fake.

"As for the birth certificate I got him to produce, some people have questioned whether it’s authentic," continues Trump. "Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t. That’s for experts to determine. But if Obama’s liberal media pals don’t like my answer, stop asking the question."

Anti-Defamation League Boosting Presence In Silicon Valley

0
0

WASHINGTON — The Anti-Defamation League is placing a representative in Silicon Valley to work on cyber hate and harassment issues, BuzzFeed News has learned.

The move comes after significant trolling, particularly on Twitter, of Jewish journalists and other public figures, amounting to a wave of anti-Semitic expression not seen in the American conversation for decades — and as tech companies struggle to reckon with their role in regulating abusive speech.

“As a leading civil rights advocacy organization, ADL was early to recognize the burgeoning issue of cyberhate and how extremists were exploiting online platforms to spread antisemitism and target Jews as well as other minorities,” said Brittan Heller, who will become the group’s first Director of Technology and Society, in a statement. “From its first report on these cyberhate more than 30 years ago to this year’s work tracking the harassment of journalists on social media, ADL has demonstrated its commitment to ensuring our online communities are a safe and just place for all.”

Heller is a former cyber crime and human rights investigator and prosecutor, has also been a high-profile victim of online harassment. While she was at Yale Law School, she was subjected to sexual harassment on a law school messaging board. She and another student sued the board’s administrator as well as anonymous commenters for invasion of privacy and defamation. Heller and the other plaintiff settled with the defendants in 2009.

“We've really doubled down on the work that we're doing to deal with this new emerging and metastasizing trend of online harassment and cyber hate,” said ADL director Jonathan Greenblatt in an interview with BuzzFeed News, calling what has been happening on social media "breathtaking and downright scary."

The 103-year-old ADL has traditionally focused on combating anti-Semitism, an issue that has been in the spotlight this year as Donald Trump’s candidacy has had the effect of empowering online trolls. The organization conducted an online harassment survey of journalists over the summer.

"We've had some wins with companies," Greenblatt said, citing its participation in Twitter's Trust and Safety Council and its working with Google to take down the Chrome extension which enabled users to place parentheses around Jewish names, a common device employed by the alt-right. The ADL declared the parentheses used in this way to be a hate symbol.

The group has been vocal during this election cycle about highlighting the issue of online harassment, forming a task force to investigate bigoted harassment of journalists in June and participating in SXSW’s Online Harassment Summit.


Hillary Clinton Tries To Introduce Herself To Skeptical Young Voters

0
0

Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

PHILADELPHIA — Inside a small Gothic hall here at Temple University, a modest crowd of young people waited to hear Hillary Clinton deliver what her aides titled a “Millennial Speech."

Outside, holding a white poster-board scrawled in loose handwritten script, a man greeted attendees with a less official account of the political reality that necessitated Monday's speech: “This election cycle has produced the two most hated candidates we've ever had," his sign read. “Grow a pair and vote third party.”

That Clinton needed to address young people with so direct a pitch as her capital-M, capital-S “Millennial Speech," a 30-minute address aimed at what her aides described as the “millennial generation,” underscored Monday the deep skepticism the Democratic nominee still faces from voters under 30, particularly among those who backed Bernie Sanders and may now pledge their support to one of two third-party candidates.

Polls show that Gary Johnson of the Libertarian Party and Jill Stein of the Green Party take a worrisome share of voters away from both Clinton and Donald Trump. Last week, a New York Times-CBS News survey of voters under the age of 30 found that Clinton lost 10% among likely voters when the two third-party candidates were included.

As the race enters the 50-day homestretch, Clinton aides have been forthright about not doing well enough with young voters. Most concerning for Democrats are the possible warning signs that Clinton has yet to convince young black and Latino voters.

In Philadelphia, flanked by newly made campaign signs that read “L-O-V-E” and “Love Trumps Hate,” Clinton made direct reference to the young people who may view her warily or know little about her background, delivering a speech heavy on personal biography and speaking at points as if introducing herself for the first time.

“Even if you are totally opposed to Donald Trump, you may still have some questions about me. I get that. And I want to do my best to answer those questions,” Clinton said. “When it comes to public service, the service part has always come easier for me than the public part.”

Carlos Barria / Reuters

Clinton, admitting that she’ll never be a “showman” like her opponent, outlined what she described as “the values that drive me and my vision for the future.”

The highly personal speech recalled “pivotal moments,” family members, and mentors, drawing a line from the candidate’s mother, Dorothy Rodham, and the kindness she experienced during a troubled childhood, to the way it later inspired a young Hillary Rodham to pursue public service as an advocate with the Children’s Defense Fund in her very first job out of Yale Law School.

It came down to “one word,” Clinton said. “Kindness.”

That was embodied, she told the crowd, in the creed of her mother’s Methodist faith, to “do all the good you can,” and it was solidified as a practical call to service after Clinton saw a flier on a campus bulletin board for Marian Wright Edelman’s Children’s Defense Fund. (“We used to have those fliers!” she added to some laughs from the crowd.)

From the moment she met Edelman, “something just clicked in my brain,” Clinton said. “I began to see how I could translate the commitment to helping others I learned from my mother and my church into real social change.”

The crowd of 300 young people, including a careful staging of young voters behind the candidate and on two balconies above the stage, listened attentively, but throughout the speech, their loudest cheers came when Clinton mentioned her work with Sanders on a revised college plan and when she unleashed her usual round of attacks on Trump.

“We can’t get distracted when the media or my opponent turns this election into a circus," Clinton warned at one point. "My husband has a saying about that. He calls it ‘majoring in the minors’ — getting so wrapped up in stuff that doesn’t matter, you forget what’s really important to your future and the future of this country.”

After committing the summer to a series of blistering speeches on Trump, Clinton and her aides have said the campaign will focus more in its final weeks on making giving people something to "vote for," not just something to vote against.

The candidate hit that point again here on Monday, promising to close "my campaign the same way I started my career, fighting for your people and families," but as in all her recent speeches, Clinton did not stray too far from her opponent.

“We have to stand up to this hate. We cannot let it go on,” she said. “And when we do that, we send a clear message: America is better than this. America is better than Donald Trump. Just as important, we have a chance to make real progress together in our country. I need you.”

In advance of Monday’s speech, Clinton communications director Jennifer Palmieri told reporters that the Philadelphia appearance would allow the candidate to "speak directly to millennial voters" and "pro-actively make the case."

"The millennial generation is a key voting bloc in this election," she said in a statement, admitting, "It's clear that the campaign must do more to earn their vote."

In June, after the end of the Democratic primary, the team in Clinton’s Brooklyn headquarters launched a new “millennial engagement” program, adding a new team of staffers, including one from the Sanders campaign.

Clinton did not name Johnson or Stein during her speech, only leaving voters here with the prospect of two choices.

"Give us both a fair hearing. Hold us accountable for our ideas. Both of us," she said.

Pro-Trump PAC "Liberty Action Group" Responds To FEC Inquiry Amid Lawsuit

0
0

Mike Blake / Reuters

A pro-Donald Trump political action committee that has raised almost $800,000 responded last week to an inquiry from the Federal Election Commission asking why the group's filings lack basic information about its spending and contributions.

BuzzFeed News reported in August that Liberty Action Group has run radio ads soliciting donations to help elect Trump but has provided little evidence in its FEC filings as to where that money is being spent. The PAC is currently being sued in federal court in a class action complaint alleging the group robocalled thousands of people without their consent.

The FEC sent a letter to the group in August requesting more information about the organization's donors and about those who received payments from the group.

The PAC’s director, 24-year-old Josiah Cammer, responded to FEC last week, writing in a letter that the group was unaware that they needed to list basic information about their donors in public filings and said they are attempting to ask their donor base for that information to refile to the FEC.

“The organization is committed and in agreement on resolving both outlined issues,” Cammer wrote in his letter. “Regarding requested donor occupation information, the organization was not informed nor aware that such information was required therefore, the data was not captured during the initial request. After receiving the letter requesting this information, we've emailed the contributor base requesting this information.”

“As of today, we have received a response from more than 10% of our donors. As soon as we receive the response from 80% of the donors, we will update and resubmit our first quarter reports,” he said. “Regarding requesting address and purpose of the itemized disbursements, we've re-submitted as requested. “

Cammer said in the letter that they had refiled information in their April quarterly report on where money was spent, but a review of refiled paperwork reveals that basic information, such as addresses for those who received disbursements, is still lacking. Filings from the July report also do not list the purpose for money spent, or the address of those who received the payments.

Cammer did not respond to a request to comment. Other listed contacts for the PAC, such as Robert Reyes of Modern Media Group LLC and Matt Tunstall, who sources said is involved with running the PAC, also did not respond for a request for comment.

Here's the letter:

Here's the letter:

LINK: A Pro-Trump PAC Raised Nearly $800,000 — Where Did That Money Go?

LINK: Why Does This Democratic Progressive Group Have Close Ties To A Pro-Trump PAC?

LINK: Pro-Trump PAC “Liberty Action Group” Sued Over Unwanted Robocalls


Trump Cites Bombings In Renewing Calls For Tougher Immigration Controls

0
0

Donald Trump speaks in Florida on Monday.

Joe Raedle / Getty Images

Fort Myers, FL — Donald Trump on Monday renewed his calls for curbing immigration from countries where "safe and adequate screening cannot occur," citing recent bombings in New York and New Jersey as proof that the government wasn't doing enough to keep Americans safe.

In his speech at Fort Myers, Florida, Trump said Hillary Clinton would allow more refugees in, putting the United States at greater risk of even more homegrown terror attacks.

"We should temporarily suspend immigration entering from regions where safe and adequate screening cannot occur," Trump said. “We want people to come into our country but they have to come legally, through a process, and we need extreme screening.”

Joe Raedle / Getty Images

If potential immigrants aren’t able to be screened, then they shouldn’t be allowed into the US, Trump added.

“This isn’t just a matter of terrorism, this is really a question of quality of life,” Trump said. “We want to make sure we’re only admitting people into our country who love our country, we want them to love our country, and we want them to love our people.”

The Republican nominee also mentioned the suspect in Saturday's bombings in New York and New Jersey, calling Ahmad Khan Rahami — a US citizen who was born in Afghanistan — an "evil thug."

And while he congratulated law enforcement for catching him, Trump lamented that the “bad part now” is Rahami, who was injured in a shootout, will get top notch medical care and likely be represented by an “outstanding lawyer.”

“He’ll probably even have room service, knowing the way our country is,” Trump said.

Trump also criticized Clinton and President Obama for refusing to say “radical Islamic terrorism.”

“We will not defeat it with closed eyes or silent voices,” Trump said. “Anyone who cannot name our enemy is not fit to lead this country.”

An applicant’s ideology must be considered when deciding whether or not they should be allowed to immigrate to the US, Trump said, adding that Clinton would refuse to consider someone’s world view.

"In the 20th century the US defeated fascism, nazism, and communism,” Trump said. “Now we must defeat radical terrorism."

Joe Raedle / Getty Images

Trump also read the lyrics of “The Snake,” a song about a woman who takes in a weak snake and is later killed by its poisonous bite. He used the song to show the dangers of allowing Syrian and other immigrants into the US, saying it will lead to homegrown terror attacks and be worse than the Trojan Horse.

“People are coming across our borders, people are coming into our country and we are going to make the Trojan Horse something that is unimportant,” Trump said. “This has to do with people coming into our country.”

Leticia Miranda/BuzzFeed News

Trump's plan to crack down on immigration from certain regions of the world was met with roaring support by members of the crowd at the Germain Arena.

Bob Mercier, a 75-year-old from Punta Gorda, Florida, told BuzzFeed News that Trump has "got the right ideas."

"I do think the idea of vetting people coming in from areas where there is potential danger or an ideology that is against our beliefs in America is right," he said. "It should help. Open borders is not the right answer, especially when we have enemies coming across the border."

Patricia Poole and Andrea Imperato.

Leticia Miranda/BuzzFeed News

Andrea Imperato, 57, from Sarasota told BuzzFeed News she is frustrated with immigration approach of Clinton and Obama "to sing Kumbaya and let more in," while refusing to "not call it a bomb" and "not call it islamic extremist terrorism."

"I mean it makes no sense," she said. "How do you defeat it, how do you address it if you can’t call it what it is? It doesn’t mean all Muslims are bad. It doesn’t mean followers of Islam are bad. It means the extremists who want to kill us are bad. Why can’t we call it what it is and deal with those people accordingly and keep the majority safe?”

Patricia Poole, 57, also of Sarasota, said the country is "just tolerating."

"I don’t mean to sound that way," she said. "We’re very tolerable people. But every generation is like, 'This is happening on our soil and what do we do now?' And everyone is numb."

Both Imperato and Poole said that they are concerned about some immigrants and refugees from the Middle East who do not adopt American customs and continue with certain "cultural" practices.

"We’re all immigrants," said Imperato. "They came here because they wanted a better life. They believe in America. You still keep your roots, you still have your customs, but you’re not here to blow up people who don’t believe in what you believe in, or to kill your own because your wife disgraced you or your daughter disgraced you so you slit her throat. We’re a civilized country and we just don’t do that."

“It’s a culture," Poole added. "I don’t mean everyone is that way, but it’s accepted in their country. You know, but this is our country. Come and live our ways. Enjoy our life. Don’t bring us harm.”

What’s The Matter With These Young Voters? Black Democrats Want To Know!

0
0

Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

Late one recent afternoon, North Carolina Rep. G.K. Butterfield, the senior Congressional leader, hopped on a call hosted by the Clinton campaign’s millennial vote team. The campaign invited students from historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) to receive an update on the campaign and take questions. And to hear from Butterfield.

When it came to Donald Trump, three said Butterfield, the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, didn't mince words: The man is a racist, he said.

But the thrust of the talk was generational; Butterfield proudly proclaimed that he was a baby boomer and an HBCU alum. According to one student, he said he wasn’t sure how many young people were on the line — in fact, everyone on this call was both young and a Clinton supporter, and not in need of any lecture — but he conceded that they represented the largest living generation, and the election was up to them. “You’ve done it before,” Butterfield said.

What seemed to be bothering him, according to people on the call, was something that many black Democrats have voiced privately in recent weeks, as polling continues to show Hillary Clinton’s substandard performance with people under 30: Why don’t these young voters don’t understand that this is “the most consequential election” in American political history? Butterfield has no tolerance for apathy, and he wanted these young voters to know that.

Butterfield’s lecture-like turn on the HBCU call embodies the anxiety of black Democrats firmly behind Clinton and the young black voters skeptical of her. What if these voters who helped deliver Barack Obama twice don’t vote? they worry.

In turn, established black Democrats have lots of theories and ideas for how Clinton can correct this unenthusiastic support — or if it even is unenthusiastic in the first place. Many Democrats are also obsessed with the idea that some young black voters, spurred on by a burgeoning generation of activists, might purposefully boycott voting.

The frustration senior Democrats and progressive activists have with young voters spilled out into public view Thursday at a town hall during the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s Annual Legislative Conference in Washington. Campaign Zero’s Brittany Packnett, a Ferguson protester and member of President Obama’s task force on community policing, pushed back at the idea that young black people are unenthusiastic about voting, citing the civic engagement that took place in the year after Ferguson. She said young aren’t going to be drawn to the ballot box if they’re being shamed for being frustrated.

“I’m voting,” Packnett said. “But if I’m going to bring young people into this conversation, we can’t just say, ‘It’s ridiculous that you’re not going to vote’ — we have to ask why.”

Packnett’s analysis set off Julianne Malveaux and Urban League CEO Marc Morial. Malveaux said she wouldn’t tell young people somebody died for their right to vote, because they wouldn’t remember. Morial said he wasn’t going to “dismiss the notion” that young voters are frustrated, gestured toward Packnett, and added, “You’re not the first generation of young people to be frustrated.”

“The idea that some people would not vote, there are people saying, ‘Yeah! Please don’t vote! That’s a great strategy,” he added, sarcastically. He continued, saying that voting was a responsibility and the fact that someone died for their right to vote is important for young voters to understand. “It’s not like buying ice cream. It’s not like texting somebody. It’s not a call on the cell phone.” After panelists tried to get a word in, Morial grew agitated. “It is not a viable strategy for black people to withdraw from voting.”

Next, Dr. Melina Abdullah, a college professor, chimed in saying she was voting, but that progressives have “a responsibility to run better candidates. How about that?” (Malveaux and Morial shouted back: “Well, run for office!”)

She said that it’s hard to engender enthusiasm in an election in which the choices are based on which candidate is the “lesser of two evils.”

Later, Packnett sought to clarify her position, saying it had seemed she was misunderstood amid frustration about young people not being enthusiastic about voting. “If we want young people to vote, now and in the future, it means conversations with them must be inclusive and understanding,” she said in an interview with BuzzFeed News after the town hall. “That's the way you are effective — by ensuring conversations honor our diverse issues, opinions and identities. That's the point I was making, because how effectively we engage young people in voting will have effects not just in 2016, but for years to come.

Left unmentioned was Clinton herself, but she looms in many of these conversations. Clinton isn’t particularly popular with young voters of all races, and though some polling indicated she did significantly better than her primary opponent with young black voters, she did not do nearly as well with them as she did with older black voters — all the while becoming a prominent target for activists over her husband’s tough-on-crime policies, which she defended in the 1990s. Younger black voters overwhelmingly despise Trump, but while Clinton’s messaging and advertising has played into just that sentiment for much of this year, that’s not enough for many. The choice is now less binary: Many young black voters are most interested in grassroots politics devoted to eliminating racism, and fixing problems with policing and the criminal justice system.

Rashad Drakeford, a former member of the Obama Administration, oversees Revolt TV’s “Revolt 2 Vote” initiative, which conducted research focused on young voters of color. Drakeford said the study found that among those who said they were not engaged in the election, half of the respondents said it was because they “couldn't find truth in the noise of the media’s political coverage,” and a third said it’s because “nothing will change regardless of who gets elected.’”

“The biggest thing the Clinton campaign has to convey over these two months is ‘Why Hillary?’ without [the answer being] ‘Trump,’” he said.

And that’s where the outside efforts and outside theorizing about what might help make the difference come in. Some groups are leaning heavily on the anti-Trump case. For instance, BlackPAC will be making a stark case for voting, with an argument that basically goes: “You can stay home and allow a racist, misogynist to become president or you can vote for a the candidate best equipped to act on a black agenda,” said Gabby Seay, an adviser to BlackPAC. Meanwhile, Color of Change’s Rashad Robinson announced the organization’s first-ever “Black Battleground State Text-a-Thon” designed to turnout young black voters at a launch event in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. Attendees are encouraged to bring their laptops to engage with black voters everywhere on their cell phones.

A Clinton aide said turning out black voters has been a “core focus” since the primary, and that organizing efforts are heating up in states with large black populations like North Carolina, Virginia, and Florida, but also in states like Nevada, Wisconsin, and Colorado “which black voters could provide the margin of victory due to their overwhelming support for Secretary Clinton.” In Pennsylvania, staff visited barbershops and beauty salons to register voters and recruit volunteers with the rapper Freeway and actor Sean Patrick Thomas, and Clinton has targeted young black voters by granting an interview with, for example, The Breakfast Club, a popular syndicated morning radio show with a heavy digital presence. The campaign is currently in talks with Revolt TV to have Clinton address issues affecting young black voters.

“Events will include everything from sneaker store voter registration parties, issue roundtables, issue brunches and black girl magic meetups,” a Clinton aide said. “The campaign will create a space where young people can take ownership of this election and build a pipeline for continued engagement from now, to GOTV and beyond.”

Other Democrats think what Clinton really needs to do is couple an agenda for black voters with her message. Others think it’s more about meeting people where they are.

“She needs to do two things: inspire and invest,” said Democratic donor and activist Steve Phillips. “The inspiring happens by championing the issues young people of color care about, and she needs to visibly embrace as much of the Black Lives Matter agenda as possible. The investing involves hiring hundreds of young people of color to do organizing and mobilizing among their peers.” He contended that people don’t appreciate Obama’s actual margins of victory in key states like Ohio, Florida, and Virginia.

“I do not hear the enthusiasm to the degree that I would like,” Rev. Al Sharpton said. “I do a lot of speaking at rallies and schools and even to young people at NAN, and I’m not hearing the kind of determined fervor that I heard in 2008 and 2012.” He said there has to be a clear reason for young black voters, and a connection between her policies to the issues they care about. One troubling sign to him: “When I looked at the VMA Awards, every star you could think of and not one time was voting mentioned. I think these are the kinds of things that cause concern. I’m not panicked yet, but I’m very concerned that if we don’t turn it around in a close election anything could happen.”

Rep. John Lewis thinks it’s all just nerves. “(President Obama’s) going to be out there for us and that will include HBCUs — and so will Michelle Obama," said the aide. "Her polling is off the charts." Lewis believes it’s key. “The president of the United States Barack Obama made one of the most amazing appeals yesterday in Philadelphia. He’s going to be out on the road carrying the good news. They will turnout. I’m very hopeful and optimistic that they’ll turn out.”

Still, there’s a case for voting that goes beyond the presidential race. Rev. Jesse Jackson stressed the importance of voting to a gathering of young black voters Wednesday at a National Action Network reception — and said the ballot is more important than just who is at the top of the ticket. “We would be unwise to let someone talk out of our hand the winning card,” Jackson told BuzzFeed News. “The vote is the winning card. It’s not the only card, but it’s a game changer.” He said Ed Hanrahan, the state’s attorney in office during the time Chicago police killed Black Panther organizer Fred Hampton. “He was on the ticket and we voted him out of office.”

“It’s the same thing for [Anita Alvarez] who laid back on the Laquan McDonald case — we voted her out of office and put in Kim Foxx, and the same thing happened in Cleveland. So it does show that when the vote is aptly applied, it matters.”

But the question of efficacy plays heavily, as well. Rep. Yvette Clarke of New York says she’s talked to young voters in her district about Clinton’s determination to get things done — but noted that her constituents have been faced with a lot of battles. “Whether it’s in education, criminal justice, where they’re looking for the immediate gratification of what the vote can produce,” she said. “So they would look at what has President Obama done and because maybe they haven’t seen how the Federal Bureau of Prisons has changed, it’s not as tangible for them.”

“This is not a beauty pageant,” she continued. “This is about power and how you leverage and use power. If we’re there for Hillary Clinton I believe she has an obligation and responsibility to make sure that our issues are top on our agenda.”

She’ll be looking closely at the turnout number for young people, a significant portion of which is young and black. It’ll be motivational — not a lecture.

“I tell my constituents, ‘Listen: Don’t embarrass me.’ My message is that we have got to make sure that we hit that bar that we hit for President Obama. And exceed it.”

People Point Out That Refugees Are Not Skittles After Donald Trump Jr. Posts Meme

0
0

Donald Trump Jr. on Monday posted a meme that compared refugees to a bowl of candy laced with poison. Warning: Some of these images are graphic.

Donald Trump Jr. on Monday posted a meme promoting his father's campaign for president that compared Syrian refugees to a bowl of deadly Skittles.

Donald Trump Jr. on Monday posted a meme promoting his father's campaign for president that compared Syrian refugees to a bowl of deadly Skittles.

"If I had a bowl of skittles and I told you just three would kill you. Would you take a handful?" the meme reads. "That's our Syrian refugee problem."

The message was a play on a rhetorical device that sometimes uses poisonous M&M's. It's also been applied to groups of people, most recently Syrian refugees. If a few people in the group are bad, it'd be foolish to trust anyone in that group, some argue.

In particular, the meme posted by Trump took language from a tweet by conservative radio host Joe Walsh last month.

Donald Trump Jr / Via Twitter: @DonaldJTrumpJr


View Entire List ›


New Initiative Looks To Fuel Next Administration's Latino Political Appointments

0
0

AP images

A Hispanic group that has helped Latino Democrats get elected and a coalition of 40 national Latino organizations are joining forces to identify, elevate and nominate Hispanics to join the next administration.

The Latino Victory Foundation (LVF) and the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA) will announce Tuesday the Latino Talent Initiative, with a goal of creating a pipeline and increasing the pool of Hispanic candidates considered for the roughly 6000 political roles, about half of which are full-time positions.

NHLA said that Latinos make up only 8% of political appointments at all levels and wants to see representation on the same level as Hispanics in the U.S. population — about 17% to 18%, and the partnership is calling for four Latinos in next cabinet, the same number at the moment in the Obama administration.

"The fact that we are the most underrepresented group in the most important spaces of power in our nation correlates with the challenges facing our community and the way our families are doing," said Hector Sanchez, NHLA chair and executive director of the Labor Council For Latin American Advancement.

The goal is to create a sophisticated resume bank, said LVF interim director Cesar Blanco, and serve as a resource for the White House in the way other communities have done a better job of to gain political appointees. The searchable database will include 40 questions to detail previous employment, skill sets and strengths.

"We’re focusing from entry level to cabinet secretaries to ambassadors," Blanco said.

Sanchez said a chronic problem in politics is people saying that they can't find qualified Latinos to fill positions, one he argues is because they aren't looking.

He told the story of meeting with a secretary in the administration who said they didn't have quotas and only hire the best and the brightest, but understood they had a serious problem of underrepresentation of Latinos.

"There's a serious problem of nepotism," Sanchez said. "We want a system that is fair. Structurally in the nation there are high levels of favoritism, of friends hiring friends, and friends hiring family members.

The new effort follows in the footsteps of NHLA's Latino Appointments Program, created after a $250,000 Ford Foundation grant secured by Cristobal Alex, who went on to head Latino Victory before taking a leave to join Hillary Clinton's campaign.

Sanchez points to the fact that there were no Latino cabinet officials at the campaign's outset and there are now four as evidence that the efforts are paying off.

Latino operatives believe former Colorado Sen. Ken Salazar's role leading the transition will help Hispanics gain attention in hopes of joining the administration, should Clinton win.

Oscar Ramirez, a Democratic strategist at the Podesta Group, said public narratives of who is up for administration roles after the election often exclude qualified Latinos, women and minorities who are being considered. He pointed to California Secretary of State Alex Padilla and Rep. Xavier Becerra as two who will be considered for cabinet positions.

A key to the Latino appointment effort is to create a pipeline of officials to step in when positions open up in a couple years, Ramirez said, echoing Blanco's argument that it is important Hispanics not to be limited to positions involving immigration, housing or labor.

The campaign's stated goal is to build on the NHLA initiative modeled after other programs like the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, which has found success in increasing the number of LGBTQ appointees.

"Enough is enough," Sanchez said. "As Latinos we have been structurally excluded from a lot of these spaces of power and there will be no more excuses to say there aren’t qualified Latinos for those spots."

Bowl Of Skittles Photographer, A Refugee, Says He Doesn't Approve Of Trump Jr. Tweet

0
0

The photographer who owns the rights to the image of a bowl of Skittles tweeted out by Donald Trump Jr. to explain the "Syrian refugee problem" says he doesn't approve of its use.

David Kittos, a UK-based photographer, posted the Skittles photo on his Flickr account more than six years ago under an "all rights reserved" license.

"I believe that the picture was lifted from my Flickr account WITHOUT permission. I don't approve of its use by Mr. Trump or his politics," Kittos told BuzzFeed News via email.

Kittos told the BBC he was once a refugee himself, leaving Turkish-occupied Cyprus as a 6-year-old.

"Yes, I was a refugee in 1974 after the Turkish invasion of Cyprus," Kittos added to BuzzFeed News on Monday.

It's unclear how the Skittles tweet, which trended on Twitter Monday evening and drew a sharp response from Skittles' corporate owner Mars, came about. Former congressman and radio host Joe Walsh sent a similar tweet in mid-August.

An email to the Trump campaign about the use of the photo was not returned.

Mike McCaul Goes After Ted Cruz For Not Backing Trump

0
0

Joe Raedle / Getty Images

Rep. Mike McCaul of Texas, who has been widely discussed as a potential challenger to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in 2018, said Cruz "broke his word" when he declined to back Republican nominee Donald Trump at the party's national convention in July.

“There's been a lot of talk and buzz about that,” McCaul said on the Laura Ingraham Show on Tuesday when asked about the 2018 primary. “I think what he did at the convention turned off a lot of people. He pledged to support him. He broke his word. What he said in terms of not supporting the nominee. There's some discontent.

"What I'm looking at, to be honest with you, is getting Trump elected to the White House and keeping Hillary out of there. I'm working with Giuliani on this very closely on the national security team because I'm putting the country first above myself. That's what's important right now to me."

Earlier in the interview, McCaul said it was imperative all Republicans backed Trump.

“I'm not one of these Republicans that's sitting on the sidelines throwing barbs and criticizing the nominee,” he said. "I think it's imperative that we all unify behind him. The idea that these Republicans will sit on the sidelines and allow Hillary Clinton to become the next president of the United States is unconscionable to me. I think a high price will be paid for those Republicans who did that and were complicit with her becoming the commander-in-chief."

The Texas congressman added that Republicans bucking Trump were just attention seekers.

“They just want attention,” he said. “I just think they want attention. He may not have been the first choice for some people, but he's our nominee. He's good on business, he's good on regulations, he's pro-military. The Supreme Court is at stake, and yet you've got people like John Kasich, who's trying to skew Ohio, and others [to get] attention. It's not good for the country at the end of the day. We saw what happened at the convention when [Ted Cruz said] 'vote your conscience.' I actually get very angry about this because, to me, the choice is clear. I'm going to do everything I can to try to unify this party and prevent her from being in the White House.”

13 Times Donald Trump Was Not The First To Campaign In Front Of A Plane

0
0

“Do people notice Hillary is copying my airplane rallies - she puts the plane behind her like I have been doing from the beginning.”

Oct. 25, 2012.

Tony Dejak / AP

Aug. 31, 2012.

Brian Snyder / Reuters

Aug. 25, 2008.

Jim Young / Reuters


View Entire List ›

Latina And Black Operatives Join Clinton Transition Team In Key Roles

0
0

Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

Stephanie Valencia Ramirez and John Jones, two operatives with experience in the Obama administration and on Capitol Hill, have joined Hillary Clinton's transition team, putting two prominent people of color in charge of strategic outreach to the Hill and constituency groups under former Colorado Sen. Ken Salazar, who serves as chair.

Ramirez starts Monday, according to three Latino strategists. Jones hire was confirmed by a CBC staffer and two other operatives.

Ramirez, who left the administration earlier this year to join Google, is considered a Latina leader among Hispanics in Washington, having worked for the Obama campaign in 2008, the transition team, and then the administration. She serves on the national committee for Latino Victory, which has helped Hispanic Democrats get elected.

The hire comes after news that Latino Victory and a coalition of 40 national Hispanic organizations have come together to create a resume bank of Latino candidates for political appointments in the next administration.

Alida Garcia, executive director of Inclusv, which works to increase diversity hires in politics, said that if Clinton is elected, Valencia Ramirez will work to prioritize diversity and inclusion on the transition team because she has done so in every role she's had.

"She sat me down in her office in the West Wing and asked what she could do to help me and if I could help her identify other young Latina leaders looking to serve," Garcia said. "That's rare in this town, and that's how barriers of access for people of color begin to break down."

Jones, who was recommended to the transition team by the Congressional Black Caucus, two sources said, is a respected figure on and off Capitol Hill. As a chief of staff to Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II, he’s also well-connected with members in the House and Senate, especially inside the CBC.

The subject of transition is hot topic of conversation on the minds of White House operatives trying to figure out their next move, and for some Clinton campaign staff — from which there are plenty of black and Latino operatives to choose from for a Clinton White House — angling for potential White House appointments.

Inside black Democratic circles, operatives and strategists are actively figuring out what more can be done to ensure blacks are considered for positions, if Clinton is elected. In a spirited conversation about the subject of transition during the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s annual policy convention, operatives observed how nice it would be, for instance, to see a black secretary of defense.

But it’s not just the most high-profile cabinet positions black Democrats are paying attention to. With fewer than 50 days until the election, also up for discussion is how Clinton will staff key mid-level positions like political directors and communications staff.

Latino Democrats similarly don't want potential appointments limited to the well-trodden ground of immigration, labor, and housing. Cesar Blanco, Latino Victory's interim director, also said he would like to see Hispanics considered for defense, trade, and foreign affairs roles. The key, operatives argue, is not just a focus on high-profile cabinet roles, but in creating a pipeline that will mean a wealth of candidates across departments for years to come.

Garcia of Inclusv, said that regardless who wins, thousands of campaign staff of color will be looking for work. Her organization is gearing up for an "off-boarding training program" for campaign staff of color seeking mentors, career development and guidance pursuing their next jobs in politics.

With Salazar leading the transition, Valencia Ramirez coming onboard and the new Latino appointments initiative, Democrats feel primed to make advances on a key measure of Latino political power.

"The right people are being elevated," a Clinton official said. "They’re going to be engaged on meaningful outreach. It's a sign the Latino community is growing."

Over and over, people talking about transition laud the Obama administration for its innovation — he appointed two black attorney generals, made Jeh Johnson director of Homeland Security, and has four Latinos in the cabinet. While many contend Obama doesn't get enough credit, people believe Clinton will be graded on a higher curve.

“Hillary Clinton won't get to slide,” a senior Democratic strategist said. “People are going to be tough and demanding. They’ve known her and the Clintons for far too long."

Vicente Fernandez Came Out Of Retirement To Drop A Corrido For Clinton

0
0

I'll get right to it. Vicente Fernandez, the legendary Mexican ranchera singer, just dropped a corrido for Hillary Clinton.

youtube.com

Fernandez, known to many as Chente, begins the video telling Latino voters "your voice is your vote," adding "juntos se puede," or together we can.

Fernandez, known to many as Chente, begins the video telling Latino voters "your voice is your vote," adding "juntos se puede," or together we can.

Hector Guerrero / AFP / Getty Images

The musical endorsement is a project of Latino Victory and came together because Fernandez contacted friends of his in San Antonio who are mutual friends of DNC finance chair Henry Muñoz.

The musical endorsement is a project of Latino Victory and came together because Fernandez contacted friends of his in San Antonio who are mutual friends of DNC finance chair Henry Muñoz.

Rick Kern / Getty Images

Fernandez takes a veiled shot at Trump saying that with Clinton as president the community will always "have a bridge." Satisfied with his turn of phrase, he smiles wide and holds the line for effect.

Fernandez takes a veiled shot at Trump saying that with Clinton as president the community will always "have a bridge." Satisfied with his turn of phrase, he smiles wide and holds the line for effect.

Joe Raedle / Getty Images

"It hurt my country that someone insulted us," he says driving the point home. "Hillary we're with you."

"It hurt my country that someone insulted us," he says driving the point home. "Hillary we're with you."

Andrew Renneisen / Getty Images

It's actually no surprise Fernandez came out to support Clinton. At his retirement concert earlier this year he took on Trump and said he would spit in his face if he saw him. So there's that!

youtube.com

And Fernandez, like George H. W. Bush, will go from being a fan of George W. Bush in 2000, when he performed at the Republican convention, to supporting Clinton now.

And Fernandez, like George H. W. Bush, will go from being a fan of George W. Bush in 2000, when he performed at the Republican convention, to supporting Clinton now.

Amazingly, this isn't the first Latino anthem of the 2016 election. It isn't even the first corrido! Who can forget such hits as The Latino Trump Anthem and El Quemazon — The Bern — in honor of Bernie Sanders.

youtube.com

Fernandez closes out the video saying "Mrs. Clinton, I'm here to ask you that when you win the presidency, don't forget about all of my Mexican and Latin-American brothers. A hug, and I'll go visit you when you're president."

Fernandez closes out the video saying "Mrs. Clinton, I'm here to ask you that when you win the presidency, don't forget about all of my Mexican and Latin-American brothers. A hug, and I'll go visit you when you're president."

Hector Guerrero / AFP / Getty Images


These Mexican-American Dudes Made A Corrido For Bernie Sanders

This Puerto Rican Dude Created A Donald Trump Salsa Anthem To Show Not All Latinos Hate Him

When George W. Bush’s 2000 Convention Featured A Latino Theme And Vicente Fernandez


Evan McMullin Turns Racist Voicemail From Trump Supporter Into Campaign Ad

0
0

McMullin Campaign

Evan McMullin's presidential campaign has taken a racist tirade recently left in a staffer's voicemail inbox and turned it into a political ad highlighting the dangers of "Donald Trump's America."

The ad, which will air online in select markets, features a recording of a personal cell phone message campaign spokeswoman Rina Shah received after appearing on Fox News last Friday.

"You frothing, libtard piece of shit Islamic dog," the caller, identified only as "Alan," is heard saying in the ad, while a transcript of his rant runs along the bottom of the screen. "Vote for the pathological lying criminal you fucking piece of shit ... and get out of our country ... while you're at it, got back and get fucked by your dirtbag Islamic terror scum friends. Slut."

The campaign's ad concludes with a warning: "Alan is a preview of Donald Trump's America. We can do better."

As the ad notes, Shah was born in West Virginia. She is also not a Muslim. But in an interview with BuzzFeed News, she said Alan's voicemail was just a small sample of the abuse she has endured from Trump supporters since she publicized her opposition to Trump and then joined McMullin's campaign.

"I could send you, I'm not kidding, hundreds of emails I've received," she said. "You know, 'You're a Muslim,' 'You're a C-U-N-T' — I get a lot of, 'Go back to your country.'"

Shah, who is Indian-American, gave birth to her first child last year, and said she's grown increasingly worried about how her young family would be affected by a Trump presidency.

"I never cry," she said. "It's like my rule. I've never been a crier. But I think it's really hit me this past week. ... It's just hard to imagine a scenario where it would be good for us if he were to win. And when I say 'us,' I mean women, young people, people of color — because [Trump] seems to only look out for one type. If one of his supporters were to punch me in a rally, would he even blink an eye? I don't think so."

Reached by phone Tuesday evening, the man featured in the ad told BuzzFeed News his full name was Alan Pryce. He seemed at first not to remember leaving the voicemail on Shah's phone, but after hearing a transcript of the message read aloud, he said, "Oh yeah, a few days ago? I stand by every word of it."

Informed that Shah was born in in the U.S., Pryce replied, "Really? Well, she's absolutely a first-gen whatever. Look, I didn't do a biography on her."

"Clearly, she's an anti-American supporter of a pathological lying criminal," Pryce continued. "Anyone who supports [Hillary Clinton], either actively or tacitly, is anti-American scum in my mind."

He claimed he had been disabled by an undocumented immigrant, and said he was supporting Trump as a consequence (though he declined to provide personal details that would help verify his story).

Though he was strongly critical of McMullin, whom he called "the definition of the word 'cuck,'" Pryce didn't mind being featured in his campaign's ad. "Honestly," he said, "I think it's hysterical."

youtube.com



Christie: Clinton's Comments On Tackling Systemic Racism "A Disgrace" Like Her

0
0

Robyn Beck / AFP / Getty Images

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a prominent Donald Trump adviser, said on Wednesday that Hillary Clinton's comments saying we need to "tackle systemic racism," while discussing the police shooting of Terence Crutcher were "a disgrace."

"She's a disgrace. She's a disgrace and those comments are a disgrace," the New Jersey governor said on the Laura Ingraham Show on Wednesday. "It's typical of Hillary Clinton. She knows nothing but the mouth never stops. And, the fact is she has no idea what happened in North Carolina. The same way, as you very aptly pointed out Laura, people jumped to conclusions in Ferguson which caused riot cautions in Ferguson, because of politicians dumping gasoline on a fire."

On Monday, video was released that showed police officers in Tulsa, Oklahoma, fatally shooting an unarmed black man outside his car.

"And the fact is that she has no experience in law enforcement except for being interviewed by them," continued Christie. "She has no background or experience on how to deal with these issues and it is just a disgrace. I had not heard her comments until you just played them. And I'm just appalled and as someone who spent seven years in law enforcement she's exactly the kind of politician that law enforcement loathes, loathes her. Because, she jumps to conclusion for political gain and doesn't care what careers or lives she ruins in the process."

On the radio on Tuesday, Clinton said we need to tackle systemic racism in the police system and called for improving policing.

"And we’ve got to tackle systemic racism – this horrible shooting again," Clinton said. "How many times do we have to see this in our country? In Tulsa, an unarmed man with his hands in the air? I mean, this is just unbearable, and it needs to be intolerable. And so maybe I can, by speaking directly to white people, say, look, this is not who we are."

"We’ve got to do everything possible to improve policing, to go right at implicit bias. There are good, honorable, cool-headed police officers," she continued. "We have seen them in action in New York over the last 48 hours because of the terrorist attacks. We can do better. We have got to rein in what is absolutely inexplicable. And we have got to have law enforcement respect communities and communities respect law enforcement because they have to work together."

Trump Appears With Pastor Who Questioned If Obama Was Muslim

0
0

ABC live stream

Less than a week after finally admitting President Obama was born in the United States, Donald Trump on Wednesday appeared with an Ohio-based pastor and adviser to his campaign who this year questioned Obama's faith and declined to answer in an interview if the president was American-born.

Frank Amedia is a Canfield, Ohio-based pastor who acts as a liaison for Christian policy for Trump, arranging meetings for Trump with evangelicals. Amedia sent out multiple invites through his mailing list for the event at a Ohio church and can be seen on stage in photos. He led a prayer with Trump at the end of the event.

Amedia appeared on the Alan Colmes Show in June, where he defended Trump's birtherism and questioned Obama's faith.

“I don’t believe that was racist at all," Amedia said at the time. "I don’t believe it was taken as racist. I think it was taken as political. I think that we’re too quick to put the race card on everything, we should be careful with that.”

When asked if he believed the president was born in the US, he said, "that’s so far above my pay grade."

Amedia added, “Many Christians question, 'is President Obama a true Christian?' I don’t know that he’s attending church regularly. He doesn’t quote the Bible regular. He once said out of his own month, ‘my Muslim faith’ and then he trounced it back. We could say that man’s not a Christian, but you know what, if the man tells me he’s a Christian, I’m gonna leave that between him and God.”

When Colmes said Obama did not say he was a Muslim, Amedia answered, “I know, but he did say it."

Are You Ready For The Big Debate Immigration Clash Between Trump And Clinton?

0
0

AP images

WASHINGTON — Everyone knows Donald Trump descended an escalator at Trump Tower when he launched his campaign last summer saying Mexico sends criminals and rapists to the country, promising to build a wall and deport millions.

And just weeks into her campaign, Hillary Clinton sat in a high school library to sketch out her proposal for a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants and pledged to go further than Obama's executive actions if Congress won't move a legislative fix.

No issue has been more central to the campaign.

BuzzFeed News spoke with a wide-range of immigration stakeholders; activists who work with faith, law enforcement, the tech sector, and business; as well as undocumented activists, traditional Republicans, and a hardline Trump adviser, to find out what they expect to hear on the polarizing issue and what is left to say beyond the well-worn phrases of deportations and a wall or a path to citizenship and immigration reform.

"Trump's immigration plan does not treat immigrants like human beings."

Ali Noorani who has worked with faith, law enforcement, and business groups to put together a coalition on immigration as executive director of the National Immigration Forum said to avoid empty buzzwords that don't ultimately give anything of substance to viewers, both candidates should come prepared with details. For Clinton, what would her legislative package on immigration look like? And for Trump, how does he actually plan to deport millions of immigrants and do the necessary profiling to find them?

"Clinton has the opportunity to tell the business community what a reformed legal immigration system means for the economy," Noorani said. "To law enforcement, how do her reforms to the immigration system keep the nation safe and allow law enforcement to retain trust of the immigrant community that they serve and protect? And to the faith community, how does Clinton's plan treat them like human beings and allow them to reach their fullest potential?"

Noorani argued that Trump will struggle to appeal to many outside his base on immigration. "Trump's immigration plan does not treat immigrants like human beings," he said.

A Washington Post analysis after Trump's not-actually-a-pivot illegal immigration speech in Phoenix, found that his plan would put 5 to 6.5 million immigrants at risk of deportation. Todd Schulte, executive director of Mark Zuckerberg's immigration advocacy group FWD.us, said that his organization sees 6 million as the absolute minimum in danger of removal under Trump's plan and believes it is more in the range of 6 to 9 million. Citing polling that shows many independents and Republicans favor immigration fixes short of mass deportation, Schulte said Clinton should unapologetically lean into the issue at the debate.

"She should go on the offense," Schulte said. "She shouldn’t be shy in laying out that she has a clear vision on this issue." He added that many Americans just want someone to ultimately fix this problem and said her pledge to introduce immigration in the first 100 days of her presidency is something independent voters can get behind as well as the jaded, cautious activists rolling their eyes and saying they've heard promises before.

"Obama's approach of more deportations will lead us to reform, didn't work for him, and it won’t work for her."

Cristina Jimenez, co-founder of United We Dream, is one such activist who has hit the Obama administration for deportations and wants Clinton to clearly articulate that she will make a clean break from Obama's enforcement policy. "Obama's approach of more deportations will lead us to reform, didn't work for him, and it won’t work for her," Jimenez said.

Jimenez said the debate will be an opportunity for the Latino and immigrant communities to confront Trump's deportation doctrine.

"We have seen he has committed to ending [Obama's executive] DACA program. My brother would be deported, my parents, nearly everyone in United We Dream," she said. "It contextualizes our work."

But Daniel Garza, who leads the conservative LIBRE Initiative, said that while he has opposed Trump's immigration plans from day one, he doesn't believe Clinton has successfully made the case that she can bring together consensus on what would still be a perilous post-election minefield.

He said Clinton has shown "contempt and derision" in opposing driver's licenses for undocumented immigrants in the 2008 race and in 2014 when she said most unaccompanied children crossing the border from Central America should ultimately be sent back. Now, he says, she promises "immigration reform" and going beyond Obama administratively, which he argued doesn't help efforts for consensus.

"What I want to hear from Hillary Clinton is that bipartisanship to reach consensus is the only positive way," he said. "Don’t give me platitudes, don’t give me empty rhetoric, give me something pragmatic and achievable."

Still, Garza said everyone is endowed with unalienable rights — "those rights extend to the immigrant" — and he hopes Trump will evolve on immigration, which he argued Trump has shown signs of, tempering his rhetoric and policies.

"What gives me hope on Donald Trump is I know he’s by instinct a negotiator," Garza said. "To arrive at the deal he knows he has to give, at some point can he meet people in the middle? Will we get it? I have no idea."

"Clinton is the radical on immigration."

AJ Delgado, the firebrand Latina commentator who has supported Trump from day one before recently joining the campaign as a senior adviser, bristled at the idea that Trump has to change in large-scale ways, and said current events will once again drive his remarks on immigration at the debate.

"I expect Mr. Trump is going to highlight that immigration, especially with recent events, is a matter of national security," she said referring to the bombs planted in New York and New Jersey this past weekend by a man inspired by terrorists. "I think that message, which is objectively an accurate message, is going to resonate with voters outside his base."

Like Garza, Delgado said Clinton should have to answer for flip flopping on immigration at the debate, and said Clinton is the radical on immigration, not Trump.

"How do you square that with a policy, now when you check her website, that is the most pro-illegal immigrant platform of any presidential candidate that I have read in modern history?"

Many Latino leaders view immigration as one of the most crucial parts of Monday's debate, but there is concern that the lack of a Hispanic moderator at any debate will stifle the substantive conversation needed on the issue.

"[Mass deportations] that is the argument of a child and fear-mongering at its worst."

Javier Palomarez, president of the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce said a Latino moderator was even more important during this election.

"One of two candidates on that stage began his political career by insulting Mexicans," he said. "This notion that you’re going to mass deport 11.5 million people, 9 million of whom are employed, not only is irresponsible, it’s ridiculous. That is the argument of a child and fear mongering at its worst."

"Imagine how prepared a Hispanic moderator would have been," Palomarez continued, "who has lived the reality of immigration reform and understands it?"

Saying that the debate commission "lacked the courage" to make that decision, he said the current lineup excluding Hispanic journalists will be unlikely to ferret out the best responses on immigration. "It's unfair to Hispanic viewers and it’s unfair to America."

Garza agreed, saying it was up to not only the moderator Lester Holt on Monday, but also to the candidates, who he says have not shown themselves to be particularly astute on immigration.

"I worry that it will devolve into fingerpointing," he said. "Donald Trump is going to make the case that will appeal to his base, Clinton will make the point that will appeal to her base, but America is is in the middle, with the consensus being that 12 million people should get legalization to stay here," short of citizenship.

Schulte said immigration sometimes lends itself to what sounds like hyperbole, but Trump's is "the most hardline position in modern political history," which has raised the stakes for the first debate.

"Immigration, more than any other issue, is a referendum on who we are as a nation," he said. "I hope it gets the time it deserves."

Trump In Crazy 2011 Interview: “I’m Very Proud” To Be A Birther

0
0

Jonathan Ernst / Reuters

Donald Trump no longer wants to discuss his lead role in promoting the conspiracy theory that President Obama wasn't born in the United States — his campaign has said they consider it a settled issue.

But a March 2011 radio interview unearthed by BuzzFeed News shows why Trump can't escape his birther past. In the interview, with conservative radio host Laura Ingraham, Trump said he was "proud" to be a birther, discussed the possibility that Obama might be a Muslim, and argued that historical birth announcements for Obama could have been computer-generated.

When Ingraham asks Trump in the interview about Gov. Tim Pawlenty saying he believed Obama is a US citizen, Trump replied, "He doesn't want to be labeled as a birther probably."

"I'm proud to be," he said. "I'm very proud of it. I'm very proud of it. I don't like the term. I think it's a demeaning term to the people that believe he should have a birth certificate. Some people believe he was not born in this country.

"And when people ask me that question, I just can't be sure because nobody knows. How about when his family is arguing over what hospital? You know his family members are arguing over which hospital. Then he writes that letter, supposedly to a hospital, and in the letter he puts a cute little sentence — ’the place of my birth’—and the doctors didn't even know about it. There's something very strange going on here."

Earlier in the interview, Trump discussed the possibility that President Obama might not want to release his birth certificate because it might list him as a Muslim.

“He doesn't have a birth certificate, or if he does, there's something on that certificate that's very bad for him," Trump said. "Somebody told me — and I have no idea whether this is bad for him or not, but perhaps it would be — that, where it says religion, it might have Muslim. And if you're a Muslim, you don't change your religion, by the way. But somebody said maybe that's the reason why he doesn't want to show it. I don't think so. I just don't think he has a birth certificate, and everybody has a birth certificate."

Trump continued, "When you're born in a hospital you have a birth certificate. How about this governor? He said 'I remember when he was born.' He's taking one for the party. They are looking to that guy because this guy remembers when Obama, a poor kid, was born. Give me a break. There's something fishy. When I started out two weeks I said 'I can't be 100% sure.' Well, let me tell you, after working on it for two weeks, I'm a lot less sure than I was two weeks ago."

The month after the interview took place, President Obama released his birth certificate, but Trump continued to doubt the authenticity of his birth certificate well into well into 2015 and 2016.

In the March interview, Trump raised doubt that contemporaneous birth announcements for Obama in local newspapers could have been computer-generated.

“Now, you know, when I hear he took an ad in the paper, his parents, these are poor people,” Trump said. “When did you ever hear of anybody taking an ad in the paper? I see so much fraud in this world. An ad like that could have been staged. I don't mean staged at the time. I mean could have been computer-generated five years ago, eight years ago, two years ago. It could have been computer-generated."

Judge Who Struck Down Stop-And-Frisk Policy Pushes Back Against Trump

0
0

Jonathan Ernst / Reuters

WASHINGTON — Following reports that Donald Trump said Wednesday that "stop and frisk" in New York City "worked incredibly well," the former federal judge who ruled the tactic unconstitutional in 2013 struck back — calling it "destructive" in comments to BuzzFeed News.

Shira Scheindlin

Via stroock.com

"Stop and frisk was not beneficial," former US District Court Judge Shira Scheindlin wrote in an email on Wednesday afternoon. "[I]t was destructive."

In comments made to Sean Hannity on Wednesday, Trump reportedly backed the policy, saying he would "do stop-and-frisk" as president to help stop violence in black communities. "We did it in New York, it worked incredibly well," Trump said, adding, "In New York City it was so incredible, the way it worked."

Scheindlin ruled in 2013 that the policy violated the Fourth Amendment's protection against unreasonable searches and seizures and the Fourteenth Amendment's guarantee of equal protection of the laws. Later that year, the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals removed Scheindlin from the case because, the appeals court ruled, her "appearance of impartiality may reasonably be questioned" due to comments she made at a court hearing and in media reports about the case. "®eassignment," the appeals court held, "is advisable to preserve the appearance of justice."

Although the city — under former Mayor Michael Bloomberg — had appealed Scheindlin's decision, the city reversed course following the election of New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, dropping its appeal of Scheindlin's ruling. Since then, the city ended the stop-and-frisk tactic and a court-appointed monitor is overseeing the city's implementation of reforms to the challenged police policies.

In the wake of Trump's reported comments, Scheindlin — who has since retired from the bench is now of counsel at Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP — explained to BuzzFeed News why she still calls the practice of stop-and-frisk "destructive" today.

"When stops decreased from a high of 685,000 to 2011 to a low of [approximately] 22,000 today, crime did not rise at all — in fact it decreased a bit," she explained. "Also no subsequent law enforcement action was taken against nearly 90% of all those stopped in 2011, which shows the stops were not based on the required reasonable suspicion of criminal activity."

"In short, the overstopping in many communities harmed the relationship between the people and the police," she wrote of the policy. "Cooperation has now improved due to positive efforts by police to work with the community not against it."

Viewing all 15742 articles
Browse latest View live




Latest Images